The present invention relates generally to furniture. More particularly, the present invention is related to a folding seat with an ergonomic back support, ergonomic seat, and/or cushion for interlocking with the back support.
A long-standing challenge to the furniture industry has been how to make a folding seat (i.e., chair or stool) that is both comfortable and stable, yet folds into a compact configuration.
Folding stools with round seats are known. Examples of such round seat folding stools are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,478,138 and 5,503,460, both issued to Yu. Another example of a prior art folding stool is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,604, issued to Yao. Each of these prior art folding stools suffers from the common deficiency that they do not have a structure for providing back support to a seated person. These stools make a straightforward sacrifice of comfort for the sake of compactness when folded.
The folding stools disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,649,140 to Housel and in U.S. Pat. No. 2,002,118 issued to Johnson, each have a structure which projects above the seat. However, in each case, the structure projecting above the seat is merely a handle, and cannot be considered to have any functionality whatsoever as providing back support. Again, these stools represent a sacrifice of comfort for the sake of compactness when folded.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 256,857 issued to Tallon, shows an ornamental design for a folding chair having a round seat. A back support structure is portrayed. The right side elevation view (see FIG. 4) reveals that the back support structure angles away from the seat at an extreme angle. Thus, it is apparent that the back support structure of the Tallon ornamental design has little functional value.
The folding chair disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 2,016,385 issued to Molling, shows a back support structure bent at an angle (See FIG. 1 of Molling). The apparatus disclosed by Molling has the disadvantages that the back support is very tall, and thus, not compact, and that the folding mechanism beneath the seat is very complex.
The folding chair disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 2,650,653 issued to Gethner, shows a back support structure which has a bend between the seat and the back pad. However, the angle of the bend is quite large, so as to result in a folding chair which cannot fold very flat.
Thus, what is needed is a compact folding seat that provides useful back support, is stable, and which can be folded flat.
With few exceptions, the back cushions of chairs have been permanently attached to the frame of the chair. Although seat cushions of chairs are often removable (for cleaning, etc.), back cushions (in any are provided) are generally not removable.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,407,248 to Jay et al. shows a wheel chair back that has a plurality of modular, removable square foam blocks. The blocks are held onto the chair back by VELCRO(trademark) strips, and are selectively removable so as to customize the contour of the wheel chair to accommodate for deformities of the chair occupant. Wedge shaped cushions may optionally be fitted in place of the regular cushions so as to provide for a moderate sloping contour. Although this chair back is useful for preparing a seating profile customized to a particular occupant, it does not lend itself to efficient mass production. For example, the use of VELCRO(trademark) permits too much variability in the back cushion configuration for mass market chairs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,317 to Neal shows a folding chair that has interchangeable components. An interchangeable seat mates to the seat of the chair by interlocking with a locator member. The interchangeable back mates to the back of the chair by interlocking with another locator member. Although both the back cushion and the seat cushion are removable and replaceable in this chair, the fastening system is complex.
Accordingly, what is also needed is a back cushion system for a chair that permits the back cushions to be freely removed and interchanged, yet provides a simple way of fixing the cushions to the chair that provides for reliably consistent positioning of the cushions.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a folding seat that is compact and which folds flat.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a folding seat that provides useful back support, while at the same time, being compact and being capable of folding flat.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a folding seat that is stable and provides ergonomically back support, while at the same time, being capable of folding flat.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a chair with a back cushion that is freely removable and interchangeable.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a chair with a back cushion that is fixed to the back of the chair in a simple manner.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a chair with a back cushion that is interlocked to holes in the back of the chair.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a chair with back cushions that are fixed to the back of the chair at consistent positioning.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a cushion with elements having a circumferential channel for use in interlocking with a hole in the back of a chair.
Some of the above objects of the invention are achieved by a device for supporting a seated person above the ground, which has a means for supporting the buttocks of the seated person, a means for holding the means for supporting the buttocks at a predetermined distance above the ground, and a means, connected to the means for holding, for supporting the lower back of the seated person. The means for supporting the lower back comprises back support tubing which is bent at a predetermined angle at a predetermined height above the means for supporting the buttocks.
Some of the above objects are achieved by a chair that has a seat and a back connected to the seat, the back having a support frame and a cushion. The support frame has a grid configuration with plural holes being formed therein according to the grid configuration. The cushion has elements that are fitted into at least one of the plural holes so as to be interlocked to the back of the chair.
Other of the above objects are achieved by an interlocking cushion for use with a chair back. The cushion has a body formed of springy material (such as foam rubber, for example), the body or elements thereof having a circumferential groove. The circumferential groove provides an interlocking fit with a hole formed in the chair back.
Some of the above objects are also achieved by an interlocking cushion for use with a chair back, where the cushion has a body formed of springy material, the body being divided into a main portion and plural interlock portions. The main portion has a substantially flat back and the plural interlock portions are disposed on the back of the main portion. Each of the interlock portions provides an interlocking fit with a corresponding hole formed in the chair back.
According to one aspect of the present invention, cushions are provided for use on the backs of chairs, and those cushions may be easily removed from the chair backs and interchanged with other cushions. Each of the cushions has a particular shape that is intended to interlock with a correspondingly shaped hole in the back of a chair.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the back of the chair is bent at a predetermined angle at a predetermined height above the seat.